For Prudent Investors & Home Buyers

Blog Visitors' CommentsCondo Search's comment..
I just drop by to say "thank you" for your excellent blog, and safe me from committing at a high price and wrong time buying. It helps me a small property hunter(with hard earning money) and others(i believed)a better inform. Thank you again...

Young Buyer's comment...
I've just graduated and started working, and I hope to own a residential property in Singapore after 2010/2011. So I'm starting to do my Singapore property research now. I have never come across such a comprehensive coverage on the Singapore property market, and I thank you for enlightening readers like me who want to know more :) Keep up the good work!

Young Expat's comment...
i am an overseas expat who moved to singapore a year ago and started looking out recently for property to buy as rentals started to rise all around me..i was advised to follow ur forum and since then have been impressed with all the wonderful tips exchanged in this portal..thanks to all the contributors.(Smart Buyer, the blogger here, would like to say many thanks to all these unsung heroes too)

Red's comment...
I think your reply give a rational explanation on my question. You are indeed a smart buyer and very knowledgeable.

Kate's comment...
This is a great blog filled with latest news, historical insights and good opinions that gives direction. Not the sitting on the fence type of 'pc' opinions. I love this blog. Please keep up the good work! You are really doing Singaporeans a big favour! Thank you!! I will keep on reading.

Phantasia's comment ...
Hi smart buyer,
Just wanna say thanks for your response to my query earlier in another post. And also for the very informative blog! Have learnt much from your postings! Thanks for sharing.

Smart Buyers, 10 reasons to waitFear that property price will go up forever? Here are 10 reasons to consider before you make that big commitment.......Posted by Smart Buyer(This post contains the 10 reasons that Smart Buyer first wrote for himself in mid 2007 when the property market was in a runaway euphoria, which he subsequently posted on this blog for all property buyers to consider. The arguments are supported by official data and illustrated with property supply and property price index graphs.)

Bad investments are made in Good Times
Looking at the subprime problem, it is definitely a bad news that will take time to filter down. The falling US$ is another problem that will hit the US economy. China and HK property and share mkt are 2 big bubbles.. Beware !!...Posted by km(This post contains km's first-person account of the 1998's property market crash and all the troubles that came with it - soaring mortgage rate, vacant properties with no available tenants, banks pressing for top-ups as property valuation dropped, ... his story has a happy ending of course. He'd share with you openly the lessons learnt.)

Solvency Worries STALK CREDIT-DERIVATIVES MARKET. They are now talking of SOLVENCY, not just LIQUIDITY issue .......it's really quite serious now....Posted by AnonymousHaving a house which has a big loan is a liability at this global trouble time.So far the market is still moving down slow due to the reason that many of the countries are injecting funds to buy part of the share of the banking market. The negative news continues to rise. The money is better leave in CPF and local banks to grow interests....Posted by Anonymous

During the 1995 -1998 period, the same scenerio arise..Many people cant get the HDB flat. There was the ballot system and it is just like "ti-kam", 1 out of 8 can get to buy. Due to this flocked system, many people, including those who are not so keen buyer also join the Q, paying $10 as a ballot fee, when they get balloted, then ......Posted by Anonymous

This market is definitely driven by greed and liquidity.I have never seen anything like it in my lifetime. Property prices goes up as fast a the stock market. This market is definitely driven by greed and liquidity in the asian market. What goes up must come down!...Posted by rob-502

Your Property Investment Decides Your Financial SuccessYour Property Investment may be the sole determinant of your financial success in life. One wrong move,......Posted by Smart Buyer (This post contains Smart Buyer's first-person account of the 1990's boom and bust, and how investment opportunities presented themselves in the market crash of 1998 and 2006.)

Friday, February 20, 2009

Property agents said Alexis@Alexandra was sold out within 3 days. The following are responses from forumers.

SmallTimer said:"isit? can quote any report? i just got sms from agent that it is 80% sold so what is the latest? at first i laugh at the email from agent that markets this project saying that the value will appreciate by 2011 (TOP time) and rental can yield 5% .... i was wondering who the hell will believe all this bullshit. but i was wrong ... there are apparently a lot of people that take thing pretty much as the email says and dive into buying. good luck for them. me, i would rather miss the boat keep my cash then buying such over-priced property. "

Commentor#2 said:"c'mon, common sense tells me that if the take up rate is so good, the paper will splash out immediately or at most the next day like the Caspian. I read the paper every day and till now did not see anything at all. Action speaks louder than Words, ALWAYS.

You are not sensibly talking but blatantly lying.

Actually I hope you are telling the truth because it is more of a Good News than Bad. Those Bullshitter, you think yourself, I am not going to explain why. "

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Caspan hot? said"why the media make such a hoohah about Caspan... price drop but only sold 80 units ... economy is going down, more people loosing jobs, so why people stil have to pay high high price for property...making the poor suffer and the rich richer!! HDB flat price also more than half million..how to live"

Anonymous wrote:"my guess is this going to be like Livia, only hot during initial launch and then sale die again..80 units out of 712 units is only about 10%.. nothing to hoohah about!"

Frasers Centrepoint brings cheer to market with sale of 80 units at Caspian’s preview at $580psf

THE year’s first major release of a private housing project has shown that there’s still demand for projects priced attractively. Frasers Centrepoint had sold close to 80 units at its Caspian condo near Jurong Lake by late last night, the company’s CEO, Lim Ee Seng, told BT.

About 70 per cent of buyers are estimated to be HDB upgraders; the rest had private addresses. Singaporeans accounted for more than 85 per cent of buyers. Only a fifth of the buyers so far have opted for the interest absorption scheme offered by the developer. This means that they pay 3 per cent higher for their units.

The project is priced at $580 per square foot (psf) on average for buyers who opt for normal progress payment.

Property market watchers expect sales in the 99-year-leasehold condo next to Lakeside MRT Station to pick up steadily over the weekend.

Frasers Centrepoint had meant to open its showflat for sales to staff on Thursday, but decided to start selling in the evening to other buyers who had started gathering outside. The average price of $580 psf - or $598 psf for those who opt for interest absorption - is for the 250 units being marketed in the first phase.

Knight Frank executive director Peter Ow, whose firm is not involved with marketing the project, said: ‘The response is very encouraging in today’s market. It goes to show that there’s still demand in the market, as long as the project is priced attractively. Those who want the location will buy. I believe buyers would be buying predominantly for owner occupation.’

The 712-unit Caspian is being built next to LakeHolmz, an earlier condo by Frasers Centrepoint that was completed about four years ago. Units in LakeHolmz are going for about $600 psf on average in the resale market, while further away, units at The Lakeshore, which was completed more recently, are fetching an average price of around $750 psf.

Frasers Centrepoint indicated that 80 per cent of the Caspian units sold are two and three-bedders.

A strong draw of the project is its location in the Jurong Lakeside District, for which the government has big growth plans as a unique destination for business and leisure, and a vibrant regional centre serving the west region of Singapore. The project’s location next to Lakeside MRT Station will also receive a boost from the extension of the East-West MRT Line with the opening of new stations this month.

Frasers Centrepoint’s Mr Lim said: ‘We’re happy with the positive response generated by Caspian, which will hopefully create some impetus to the otherwise sluggish market.

‘We did a thorough market research and survey, which resulted in a substantial number of potential buyers indicating firm interest within a certain price range. We then launched below this price range to further boost the demand.’

He did not indicate what the surveyed average price range was, but BT understands that it was in the low to mid-$600 psf range.